“I’m just not emotional” I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve tried to convince my wife and myself with this lie.
I’ve witnessed how allowing emotions to take control leads to terrible consequences in my own life, so instead, I choose not to have feelings.
Well, more like bottle them up and push them down so deep I can pretend they don’t exist for a while.
It wasn’t until speaking with a counselor that I realized how expressing emotion is a part of the healing journey. Sitting in the counselors’ office, I recalled this story-
One night, I was awakened to my mother screaming for my help as a young boy because my father was having a seizure from low blood sugar. I rushed to help, and at that moment, I felt a wave of emotions boiling inside of me, but I fought and pushed them down to deal with the emergency at hand.
After the paramedics arrived and assured us my dad would be okay, just sore from the convulsions, I could feel the emotions surging back to the surface.
I went to my room and broke down. I cried like a scared little baby because that’s how I felt.
Honestly, I let God have it. I told Him, He better not take my dad away because I wasn’t ready to be the man of the house. I needed my dad.
I believe this release of emotion shortly after the trauma of nearly watching my dad die allowed me to heal faster.
Yet, this incident didn’t stop me from becoming a man who bottles his emotions and acts like emotions are the enemy, hence why I was in the counselors’ office.
Emotions are merely a signal pointing to something that needs to be addressed.
They’re like the check engine light on your vehicle.
The light is not bad, but it’s warning you something is going on that isn’t right and needs to be addressed.
If you’re like me, you ignore the check engine light and your emotions until neither can be ignored any longer. That’s when significant problems occur, like the transmission going out in your car or addictions in your life.
It’s best to express our emotions.
I’m not saying we all gather around, hold hands, and tell each other how we feel all the time, but we should be honest with ourselves and others about how we feel at the appropriate time.
The manliest man to ever place footprints in the dirt sure wasn’t afraid to appropriately express his emotions.
Jesus felt all the emotions we feel, like anger, hurt, joy, and sorrow. Instead of treating them like the enemy, he allowed his feelings to be known without allowing them to control his behavior.
Admitting we have emotions doesn’t make us any less of a man. Expressing our feelings helps us acknowledge the truth of what we have experienced and invite Jesus into the situation to heal us.
So why are we so reluctant to follow after Jesus, the manliest man ever to sweat?
Are you interested in learning more about how to embrace your emotions and find freedom from emotions that are holding you back? Do you want to talk to someone about your emotions? Check out Keys to Freedom by Mercy Multiplied or email one of our ministry leaders at ClearView Baptist Church
